


CODE NAME: I AM

by flytothesKAI



Series: HAVEN (cyberpunk au) [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Future, Cyberpunk, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, Hacking, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:29:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flytothesKAI/pseuds/flytothesKAI
Summary: “Be careful here. Don’t get involved in wrong crowd and mess with Bangtan, one of the most notorious violent gang in the city. There’s also all-girl gang Triple M that you have to avoid no matter how pretty they are. And Monsta? Terrorized the city in one night and killed a fucking president’s daughter!”“What the hell.”“Welcome to Haven, kid. The only way to escape is if you’re in a body bag.”Hacker Changkyun received a task he cannot decline; infiltrate the gang Monsta. The catch is: he might get shot in the head. Bullseye. But hey, the only thing he’s scared of is a fridge with no beer.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Im Changkyun | I.M, Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk
Series: HAVEN (cyberpunk au) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026363
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	CODE NAME: I AM

**Author's Note:**

> the first chapter is nothing but exposition.

Haven City was the most beautiful when it’s night.

The lights were brighter; and the people were more… uninhibited.

Changkyun could walk into any alley and stumbled on petty thugs mugging unsuspected women or maybe some gang fights where they beat each other to death. But he didn’t because he minded his own business. Like now, when he dragged himself out from his dingy dark apartment after finding out his fridge was empty and no amount of soju could satisfy his hunger. All he wanted was to have a quick bite then sleep until noon.

He tapped twice on his wrist and read the time shown on hologram. _It’s almost midnight._ He’s not a big fan of cyberware despite how popular it was but damn he’s satisfied with his hand implant and the convenience it brought. After his hand was burnt in an unfortunate accident the last thing he wanted was to remove his limb and replace it with plastic. However the doctor kindly suggested him to only get a new hand with synthetic skin so he won’t burn himself again. He reluctantly agreed. Also, he kind of wanted the medical android to shut up and leave him alone.

No one would even notice his artificial hand, not until they touch it.

Walking across the bustling street while ignoring the various neon coloured lights flashed in front of him from every corner, Changkyun went straight to the closest Korean food stall. He pushed the door and entered. Changkyun pulled his grey hoodie tighter, it’s getting colder and the rain was getting heavier outside as he took the first seat he saw. Changkyun glanced at his favourite seat beside the window, now occupied by a girl. Her appearance showed she’s not from around here.

“Long time no see.” The man behind the counter greeted him. His golden teeth shone. Changkyun raised his right hand, _his real hand_ , and grunted in familiar manner, “like usual.” That would be enough to end the conversation before it started.

He hated small talk, especially when he’s hungry or not getting paid for it. Born, raised and lived in Haven for 21 years, he knew better than making friends with people around him thanks to some bad experiences. No friend, no enemy and always stay the fuck away from anyone’s business were his cheat codes to have peaceful life in this city.

The man knew him too well to even reply and just started preparing his order. The machine mostly do the work so all the man did was pushing a few buttons on the interface then continued reading on his tablet. Changkyun looked around the premise, a street style food vendor that had been reinvented and renovated over the years since 2000. That’s a few decades before he was born. It’s a wonder how the old man managed to keep the business running over half a century.

30 years ago things were different. South and North Korea weren’t one. China and Japan were far from being controlled and Korea Utopia wasn’t even anyone’s wildest imagination. After Korea won The Red War against China and Japan, they decided to build a nation called Korea Utopia and while the two countries governed by their rules, Korea got to have the final word. So basically, they’re nothing but puppet. Even USA and Russia bowed down to the nation.

It went without saying that South and North Korea joined together into one again, becoming a country under the name of Korea with the latter abolished dictatorship and both sides agreed on presidential system with democracy. But everyone knew megacorporations had the most power.

The first and largest megacorp in Korea Utopia was HWA Militech, prominent for being one of the largest manufacturers of weapon and military vehicles in the world. Aside from aiding rich people to start terrorist attack, HWA also helped the country in the war so it’s safe to assume the corporation had the government wrapped around their pinky.

There’s also Park Enterprises, the second largest and equally powerful family business. Rise in power after successfully developed a vaccine for the virus pandemic in 2019. Heavily invested in charity but Changkyun couldn’t give a shit about it. It’s all for good publicity anyway. Their most successful business, Park Pharmaceuticals and Park Food & Beverages were everywhere in the city like a plague. In a simple word, they were so rich that there’s a popular saying, “if law is above the nation then the Park family is above the law.”

It’s sickening that it’s true.

There were a few other megacorps but that didn’t really matter now; not when a hot bowl of spicy ramyun was served in front of him. Changkyun took the chopsticks and was ready to dig in when he felt something brushed against his hip and with his quick reflex, managed to get a hold of the hand that’s trying to steal his earpods case.

“Not so quick, kid,” he growled.

The girl, probably a few years younger than him squirmed but his grip was tight. Too bad for her he’s using his left hand. “Let me go!” she squeaked, almost like a mouse.

Changkyun really hated mouse.

The owner stared at the scuffle from his glasses like he had seen much worse fight in his premise. “Don’t spill any blood,” he yelled tiredly before disappearing into the back kitchen. Changkyun shifted his focus from the girl’s face to her left wrist and surprised to see the red barcode, glowing.

“Damn how you even get here from The Pit?” He pulled her hand to inspect it closely with fascination. He only read and saw pictures of it before.

The girl snatched his hand away with an annoyed huff. Surprisingly after fixing her clothes she chose to take a seat next to Changkyun. She scanned her barcode to pay before grabbing one of the bottles offered. He heard the girl cursed at the price.

Changkyun wouldn’t admit he’s concerned but he did check if the girl was drinking alcohol. It’s only grape juice.

He wondered how the girl reached the city. Probably by some illegal transit services out there who were happy to provide as long as they’re getting paid. The travel from The Pit to Haven in legal way can be complicated and might get messy when the cops were involved, especially when you’re trying to do illegal shit. For those who wanted to avoid headache and had money to offer things could be arranged.

Changkyun remembered the barcode. Those who lived in Jungsa or commonly known as The Pit had the barcode branded on their wrist, different colour for different district. Located at the outskirt of Haven, it’s considered as slum for its low living condition and generally poor people. Even then, there were also different social classes in The Pit.

District One was on the top of the food chain, with power over food and medicine. The girl was definitely from that district as shown by her red barcode. District Two’s barcode was blue and had control over the water supply. Yellow barcode District Three had advantage on crops and District Zero, the lowest of the low basically the poorest people that were mostly labour worker and sex worker with brown barcode tattooed on their wrist.

It’s illegal for people from The Pit to do any body modification to remove or hide the barcode as it’s used to access the owner’s identification and personal data but Changkyun could bet his prosthetic those people would get it hidden by any means. 

Technology was killing everyone. Humanity was at the brink of extinction. And Korea Utopia was far from what utopia really meant.

But his food was still hot when he finally had a taste thanks to the technology so Changkyun had no choice but to face the reality and survived until he died. He wolfed down the meal and paid no mind to the girl beside him who’s salivating.

She licked her lips. “Your hand… not real right?”

Changkyun didn’t lift his head from the bowl, only giving a curt nod. He’s not in the mood to tell a melancholy story about his synthetic hand covered in black leather glove and the cyberchip implanted at the back of his neck. The latter was his secret that explained his over extensive knowledge to do his _job._

This kid from The Pit was definitely new to all cybernetic technology from Haven. He could imagine how shocked she was when first stepped into the city. He still could sense the girl’s eyes on him, staring with interest. Changkyun finished his bowl then turned to the girl. One hand propped on the countertop, he leaned back with a grin on his face.

“You new here kid?”

She didn’t have to answer because Changkyun could see it on her face clear as a day. The girl probably was tempted with “Haven is a city of opportunity” BS. He rarely took pity on anyone but this time he really felt the need to give a lifehack. Survival tip. At least warn the poor girl of danger around the city.

“Be careful here. Don’t get into wrong crowd and mess with Bangtan, one of the most notorious violent gang in the city. There’s also all-girl gang Triple M that you have to avoid no matter how pretty they are. And Monsta? Terrorized the city in one night and killed a fucking president’s daughter!”

“What the hell.” The girl widened her eyes. Apparently the information was too much for her. _Innocent soul._

“Welcome to Haven, kid. The only way to escape is if you’re in a body bag.”

The next thing he knew the girl slipped her hand in Changkyun’s pocket and stole his earpods. He was slightly dumbfounded when the girl thanked him then vanished in the crowd. She was probably overjoyed thinking she could sell it at the back alley for a few coins for her trip back to The Pit. 

Poor little girl didn’t know that device only worked with his voice command. He hated to generalize but people from The Pit had no idea how advanced the technology was in Haven.

Changkyun decided that’s it for tonight he couldn’t handle anymore bullshit. The one thing he needed right now was his warm, safe sleeping pod. Maybe had a glass of cold beer too so he could sleep better. He ran past the ever busy streets of Haven and rushed home but his feet stopped when he received a message. Changkyun smacked his lips. New job meant more money. Tapping his wrist once, he read the offer and hoped whoever sent this was joking. 

_GET INTO MONSTA'S CYBERLINK. 500K WON IS IN YOUR ACCOUNT. FIND ANYTHING ABOUT RAIN. IF YOU IGNORE THIS WE WILL KILL YOU._

He’s fucked.

**Author's Note:**

> so the universe this fic is based on has been in my mind since last year. cyberpunk is a genre that is new for me to write. you can say this is an experiment work. heavily inspired by the game cyberpunk 2077, this fic is kinda like an introduction to haven city and other story that will unfold. this fic wont focus much on romantic relationship (at least now) but the tags say the pairing would be... yeah.
> 
> enjoy reading and tell me what you think!


End file.
